Once we arrived in St Moritz, the coach picked us up to go to the Engadiner Museum. Created in 1904, this is a museum to the Romansch language and culture. Romansch is the fourth language of Switzerland and is a kind of Latin left over by the Roman legions. However, when I listened to it, it sounded more like German blended in with a mixture of Italian and French, plus the odd Latin word thrown in. Before I left I bought a primer on the Romansch language. Unfortunately, they only had three versions ~ German, Italian and French. There was no explanation given in English. However, I can read French, so I decided to buy the French version.
We then went to the Hotel Reine Victoria in St Moritz and I have to say I was disappointed. The floor in my room had no rugs on it, and the whole vibe was that it was old and tired. However, there were a few nice things. There was an actual bathtub in my bathroom. And the stairs were lovely.
We had a quick refresh, before meeting up at 7pm for dinner in a nearby restaurant housed in the Hotel Landinella. I sat opposite a woman of my age, who was also traveling solo. She elected to go à la Carte, while I went for the buffet. First I had the salad course, drizzled with a teeny tiny bit of apple dressing. Then I had the cold salmon complete with fresh vegetables. I finished with a small portion of chocolate cake. The only thing the waiter was required to do was to bring me a glass of white wine.
My friend ordered a bowl of minestrone soup, which arrived just after I’d started eating my salad course. But my wine and her water failed to materialize. Eventually, she noticed the waiter bending over some diners at another table. By this time, I’d started on my main course, was dying for my wine, so I got up and walked over to him.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” I said, “But the white wine I ordered hasn’t arrived nor has her water.” I pointed to my friend. “And we’ve been waiting for it for fifteen minutes.” The other diners giggled as he promised to check up on it for me.
A few minutes later, they finally materialized. I was able to enjoy the rest of my main course while I sipped my wine.
But my friend’s main course still hadn’t arrived. I checked my watch. We must have sat down at around 7:10, and now it was 8:10, an hour later. And all she had ordered was spaghetti!
I got up and helped myself to a (very small piece of) chocolate cake. As I sat down, I noticed her spaghetti had finally arrived. It had taken them one hour and ten minutes to produce it. By that time, I was ready to go and so I paid the waiter for my wine (CHF 7.50). And then he proceeded to charge my friend CHF 3.50 for the water. Our tour guide was hovering nearby, and when my friend told her about the water charge, she was surprised, as she thought that water was included. Once they’d finished their conversation, I got up to take my leave. But not before I’d told the tour guide the service was too slow.
Back in my room, I checked the Italian restaurant at the Hotel Landinella and I believe it is called the Restaurant Caruso. It gets very good reviews, with some calling it the “best in town.” So something has gone very wrong.
